Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Is Lord Krishna the soul of Indian Music?

Its Krishna Janmashtami. All over the world today, the birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great
enthusiasm. Krishna is the deity who
has been an inspiration for all art forms; be it painting, sculpture, performing
arts or literature.

The Navrasas mentioned in the literature are always depicted with the
help of tales of Krishna in all dance
forms.

It makes me wonder, what
would have artists created if they did not have the stories of Gods to inspire
them?

This is perhaps the only deity
who is worshipped daily in its infant lovable age in many homes. Almost all
languages have lullabies written for Krishna
and even today they are hummed to babies.

Krishna’s
stories describe him as any common lad in a village, and his pranks as a young
boy are adorably naughty. We swoon over the stories of his mesmerizing flute,
and we are awestruck by his brave encounters with demons.

The contrast of simplicity
and greatness in his stories is itself the inspiration for arts.

All these stories of Krishna are sung in all languages and all
vocal forms of music in India. The ideal romantic lover, the able ruler, the
friend philosopher and guide…Lord Krishna
is omnipresent in all our songs.

The vast treasure of
classical and semi-classical music compositions has Krishna as an all-pervasive
topic.

The poems of Meerabai are soulfuly sung by singers in
all genres.

The Baul songs of Bengal are based on the love and longing of Radha and Krishna.